Thursday, November 10, 2016

Bitches Get Stitches: On Sexy Cosplaying

Let me back this up. If you don't know who I am, I'm a model, a burlesque performer, and a cosplayer. When I was growing up, I was a lanky, skinny, shapeless, bracefaced, and unibrowed kid. When other girls were getting pretty and shapely, learning how to do their hair and makeup.. I was playing video games and writing fanfiction about marrying Lance Bass (No, I'm not kidding. They were awful and cringey as all getout).

I wanted so badly to be like the girls who dared to wear the shorter skirts at 13 and the lower cut tops at 14. Having boyfriends and telling stories about kissing the boys after school. But I was awkward and weird, those girls teased me and the boys didn't really look twice at me.

Fast forward to when I started performing in Rocky Horror and eventually discovering burlesque and cosplaying. I was confident in my body. I was feeling like one of those cool girls (Only without the running around kissing random boys thing) daring to wear the short skirts and low tops. My first "cosplay" (barely) was a pink sheer leopard print lingerie set I wore with cat ears to AnimeBoston in 2007. I was shocked at how much attention I got! People stopped me for my photo all the time...and I loved it. So from then on I'd lean towards the more scantily clad of cosplays. I'd walk through a convention and every few feet get stopped for a photo (this was before I was steadily performing and cultivating a small fanbase- SUP GUYS).

But then the backlash started happening. Being at a convention and getting the ultimate angry stink eye from other convention goers. Angry nasty comments on my nerdy burlesque Youtube videos. Comments saying I'm a "whore" or a "slut" because of my stage performances (oh my GOD I had to take down my Elfen Lied video because of how bad it got). Then there was the other side of the negative... being grabbed on the convention floor. Men (and women) hitting on me and not taking "no thanks" as an answer.

Now the latest backlash on us scantily clad squad.. the battle for "likes" and "cosfame". HEW BOY. What can I say? I can say that yes, a lot of girls (and boys) get a lot of "Likes" if they show a little (or a lot) of skin. And double yes, these cosplays are not super accurate all the time. Does it annoy me to see a girl in a black lingerie set in pigtails with a baseball bat saying they're cosplaying Harley? Of course it does. I have PLENTY of "Sexy Harley Quinn" cosplays that I encrusted in rhinestones and made sure to be in the correct red and black with diamond format. But what is accurate to me is not what is accurate to someone else. Some folks make a sexy cosplay not to be accurate.. maybe (as crazy as it sounds) they're doing it just to be sexy? And to tie it into a character they enjoy (or identify with) might make them more comfortable in doing so. Or maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's all just to cash in on the nerd popularity.

But here is my advice. If you're not a fan of "sexy cosplay"/nerdlesque/scantily clad men or women.. turn away. Change the channel. Keep scrolling. Don't be mean. We did nothing to hurt you. Not intentionally at least. If I do hurt you, feel free to shoot me a message. I'm always down to discuss.

Until next time!

(two modeled photos are by Knightmare6... the other credit goes to my mom while on vacation in Disneyworld).

What are your thoughts on the backlash against "sexy cosplayers"? Jump into the comments and keep it civil!

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